Sunday, June 19, 2011

Lioness rescued from dry well

A four-year-old lioness was rescued from a well by forest officials on the outskirts of Mandilkpur village in Junagadh. The forest officials had to tranquilize the beast.

Deputy conservator of forest Anita Karna said, "The lioness fell in a dry well as she was chasing a wild board. They both fell in the well. After having her trophy, the lioness made several failed attempts to get out of the well. But she stayed in the well. When forest officer came to know about the incident, they reached the spot and rescued the lioness."

"The rescue team made attempts to cage the animal inside the well and bring it out. But when all such efforts failed, we have to tranqualise the lioness."

She said the lioness has not sustained severe injuries, but as a precaution it was taken to Sakarbaugh Zoo for treatment. "After treatment the department will release this lioness in the open," she said

Officials said there are several open dry wells in the area and are located outside the forest department. On an average, over 40-odd such incidents are reported every year. The state government has taken up projects to fence dry well.